Jonni
Member
Date Hiked: 8/16/2008
Trail(s) Hiked: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail, Avalon Trail
Hike Number: 10
Total Distance Traveled: 7.2 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Nice to begin with, then Very Wet
Special Equipment Required: More sufficient rain gear would have been sweet
Trip Report: I know, better late than never. After reading many trip reports and trail descriptions I settled on my next hike being of Mts. Tom, Field and Willey, as well as Avalon since I new that it was on the way back. One thing that I did notice from a few of the TRs that when those people hiked the Mt. Tom and Field route they ended up hitting bad weather by the time they got to Mt. Field. Jokingly saying to myself after reading this I said, "heh, hopefully I won't have to deal with stuff like that."
Well as Murphy's law would have it, I must have jinxed myself, because right after I summited Mt. Field it started pouring with huge rain drops and BB gun BB sized hail. It had been rumbling for about a 1/2 hour before, but it sounded a lot further off then it actually was. This turned into a bit of a lesson for me, in that I definitely need to make sure that I come more prepared the next time I go for a hike, and watch the weather a LOT more closely before I leave. On to the TR...
Starting off from the Crawford Depot at the little parking lot for the trail station, I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively easily this trail climbed from the height of land in the notch to the saddle next to Mt. Tom. A very nice scenic trail was had the entire way at a moderate grade and I only met two or three people coming the other direction the whole time, until I got to the summit of Mt. Tom. I usually don't do all that well with moderate grades, as due some heart issues that I have it requires me to stop more often to stop my heart from racing, but this wasn't all that bad. The Mt. Tom spur was also one of the easiest hikes that I have ever done as well with a very minor grade the entire 0.5 mile length of it.
Clouding views were had at the very flat summit, but looking back into the top of the notch it seemed as if I had made a relatively good climb despite the relative ease of the trail. A the summit I was joined by two large families of people which kind of spoiled it a little, but I didn't say anything. Spending only about 10 minutes on the summit I began my backtrack back to the A-Z Trail and then on to the Willey Range Trail. This is the point where I probably should have turned back, but at this point it didn't seem as if the threat was as bad as it was and I really wanted to bag my next peak; Mt. Field.
Making very good time on this easy to moderate pitch to the summit of Mt. Field, I began to notice it getting pretty dark, pretty fast. Knowing now that I should have turned back, I made the decision to continue on as I was about half way through the loop of Mts. Tom and Field; going either direction would have gotten me back to my car in about the same time and distance. (Mt Willey was most definitely out of the question at this point.) Hastening my pace even more I trod the 0.9 miles to the Avalon/Willey Range Trail junction in about 25 to 30 minutes. With the rain beginning I quickly went up to the summit of Mt. Field, took one or two summit pictures to show that I summited it, and began my decent.
The rain and the hail ensued at a very good rate. The trail quickly became reminiscent of a brook to a small pond (in the flat spots), with many of the ponds collecting a layer of hail on the surface. This made finding any viable rocks to step onto in these ponds next to impossible. The mile from the Avalon/Willey Range Trail junction to the spur trail to Mt. Avalon seemed like it was the longest mile ever. Looking at my watch I realized it really hadn't taken that much time to come down it, but it seemed like an eternity. The trip from Mt. Avalon to the A-Z Trail as well as back to the trailhead from there seemed to go a lot faster. I also met the two large families that I saw up on Tom on the way down. Everyone appeared to being doing OK and heading down at a very similar clip to what I was, and I managed to get back to my car within another 20 minutes or so.
Overall, I think it would have been a better hike obviously if it didn't rain and hail, but more so if I had remembered to bring a rain jacket. Navigating a wet trail, while being completely soaked, knowing that you really need to keep moving in order to stay warm really puts a damper on the overall experience. One thing that I did notice is that many things on this route are 100 yards from other things. Exhibits A, B, C, and D: The Mt. Willard Trail starts 100 yards from the Avalon trailhead. The Mt. Tom Spur is 100 yards from the junction of the A-Z Trail and Willey Range Trail. The summit of Mt. Field is 100 yards from the junction of the Avalon Trail and Willey Range Trail. The summit of Mt. Avalon is 100 yards up on the spur trail off of the Avalon Trail.
Pictures to follow.
Trail(s) Hiked: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail, Avalon Trail
Hike Number: 10
Total Distance Traveled: 7.2 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Nice to begin with, then Very Wet
Special Equipment Required: More sufficient rain gear would have been sweet
Trip Report: I know, better late than never. After reading many trip reports and trail descriptions I settled on my next hike being of Mts. Tom, Field and Willey, as well as Avalon since I new that it was on the way back. One thing that I did notice from a few of the TRs that when those people hiked the Mt. Tom and Field route they ended up hitting bad weather by the time they got to Mt. Field. Jokingly saying to myself after reading this I said, "heh, hopefully I won't have to deal with stuff like that."
Well as Murphy's law would have it, I must have jinxed myself, because right after I summited Mt. Field it started pouring with huge rain drops and BB gun BB sized hail. It had been rumbling for about a 1/2 hour before, but it sounded a lot further off then it actually was. This turned into a bit of a lesson for me, in that I definitely need to make sure that I come more prepared the next time I go for a hike, and watch the weather a LOT more closely before I leave. On to the TR...
Starting off from the Crawford Depot at the little parking lot for the trail station, I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively easily this trail climbed from the height of land in the notch to the saddle next to Mt. Tom. A very nice scenic trail was had the entire way at a moderate grade and I only met two or three people coming the other direction the whole time, until I got to the summit of Mt. Tom. I usually don't do all that well with moderate grades, as due some heart issues that I have it requires me to stop more often to stop my heart from racing, but this wasn't all that bad. The Mt. Tom spur was also one of the easiest hikes that I have ever done as well with a very minor grade the entire 0.5 mile length of it.
Clouding views were had at the very flat summit, but looking back into the top of the notch it seemed as if I had made a relatively good climb despite the relative ease of the trail. A the summit I was joined by two large families of people which kind of spoiled it a little, but I didn't say anything. Spending only about 10 minutes on the summit I began my backtrack back to the A-Z Trail and then on to the Willey Range Trail. This is the point where I probably should have turned back, but at this point it didn't seem as if the threat was as bad as it was and I really wanted to bag my next peak; Mt. Field.
Making very good time on this easy to moderate pitch to the summit of Mt. Field, I began to notice it getting pretty dark, pretty fast. Knowing now that I should have turned back, I made the decision to continue on as I was about half way through the loop of Mts. Tom and Field; going either direction would have gotten me back to my car in about the same time and distance. (Mt Willey was most definitely out of the question at this point.) Hastening my pace even more I trod the 0.9 miles to the Avalon/Willey Range Trail junction in about 25 to 30 minutes. With the rain beginning I quickly went up to the summit of Mt. Field, took one or two summit pictures to show that I summited it, and began my decent.
The rain and the hail ensued at a very good rate. The trail quickly became reminiscent of a brook to a small pond (in the flat spots), with many of the ponds collecting a layer of hail on the surface. This made finding any viable rocks to step onto in these ponds next to impossible. The mile from the Avalon/Willey Range Trail junction to the spur trail to Mt. Avalon seemed like it was the longest mile ever. Looking at my watch I realized it really hadn't taken that much time to come down it, but it seemed like an eternity. The trip from Mt. Avalon to the A-Z Trail as well as back to the trailhead from there seemed to go a lot faster. I also met the two large families that I saw up on Tom on the way down. Everyone appeared to being doing OK and heading down at a very similar clip to what I was, and I managed to get back to my car within another 20 minutes or so.
Overall, I think it would have been a better hike obviously if it didn't rain and hail, but more so if I had remembered to bring a rain jacket. Navigating a wet trail, while being completely soaked, knowing that you really need to keep moving in order to stay warm really puts a damper on the overall experience. One thing that I did notice is that many things on this route are 100 yards from other things. Exhibits A, B, C, and D: The Mt. Willard Trail starts 100 yards from the Avalon trailhead. The Mt. Tom Spur is 100 yards from the junction of the A-Z Trail and Willey Range Trail. The summit of Mt. Field is 100 yards from the junction of the Avalon Trail and Willey Range Trail. The summit of Mt. Avalon is 100 yards up on the spur trail off of the Avalon Trail.
Pictures to follow.
